Swiss Politics

Historians face wall of silence over Swiss-Apartheid links

This content was published on Oct 11, 2002 The main stumbling block has been Swiss companies’ reluctance to open their archives to scrutiny. The federally funded project is supposed to cover everything from foreign policy to the effectiveness of sanctions against the apartheid regime, and historians have been studying the relationship between the two countries since last autumn. The government gave the mandate…

Swiss Politics

Changing of the Swiss guard in Kosovo

This content was published on Oct 5, 2002 swissinfo went with the Swisscoy recruits as they travelled by military-chartered jet to the regional capital, Pristina. The latest contingent of Swiss troops to arrive in Kosovo is the first in more than two centuries to carry weapons while on active service abroad. Each member of the 200-strong battalion lining up on the tarmac at…

Swiss Politics

Neutral Switzerland reveals its Cold War defences

This content was published on Oct 4, 2002 The Menzingen base, positioned high on a hill above the town of Zug, acts as a showcase for military hardware, which was once primed to deal with the threat of the Cold War. After serving as an active missile base from 1968 to 1999, the Menzingen site reopened as a museum earlier this year and…

Swiss Politics

Swiss lay ground for UN inspectors in Iraq

This content was published on Oct 2, 2002 The UN declined an offer from Bern to send Swiss weapons inspectors, but said Switzerland could still play a role by helping to restore the infrastructure at the UN base. Defence ministry spokesman, Oswald Sigg, confirmed that the UN, which Switzerland joined as a full member in September, has asked for a total of eight…

Swiss Politics

Swiss deploy first armed peacekeepers

This content was published on Oct 2, 2002 The troops flew into the Balkan province on Thursday, nearly 18 months after the country voted in favour of arming peacekeepers. The troops will carry weapons – including assault rifles, pistols, pepper spray and submachine guns – for personal defence only. The new contingent – part of the “Swisscoy” volunteer service – will serve as…

Swiss Politics

People’s Party takes aim at “magic formula”

This content was published on Sep 30, 2002 The make-up of Switzerland’s seven-member cabinet is determined by convention dating to the 1950s, commonly known as “the magic formula”. That formula – which helps ensure the Swiss government maintains a representative balance between the country’s different political and linguistic blocks – is under fire by the People’s Party, which has seen its share of…

Swiss Politics

Dreifuss exits a changed stage

This content was published on Sep 30, 2002 Not only was she the first woman and Jewish person to hold the presidency, she also gave Switzerland one of the best, and most expensive, health systems in the world. Dreifuss reached the high point of her career in 1999, when, as part of Switzerland’s rotating presidency, she became the first woman to be the…

Swiss Politics

Dreifuss calls it a day

This content was published on Sep 30, 2002 Dreifuss described her almost decade-long cabinet career as a “rich” experience that was also “a daily source of joy”. “I have always tried to listen to individuals and their problems,” she said. The Social Democrat’s announcement ends more than nine years as head of Switzerland’s interior ministry – a period marked by intensive reforms to…

Swiss lab gears up for return of weapons inspectors

This content was published on Sep 28, 2002 Scientists from the country’s main weapons institute have begun training UN experts and preparing for the arrival of deadly chemicals. The laboratory, nestling in a field near Spiez between lake Thun and the Bernese Alps, is at the heart of Switzerland’s research and testing programme into nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. It’s made up of…

Swiss Politics

Middle East human rights plan is still on track

This content was published on Sep 26, 2002 But he admits there has not been much progress on the proposals put forward earlier this year. “Unfortunately there has not been very much achieved so far,” he told swissinfo. “But there has been great interest in the plans in the region and even more among the international community.” In June, the head of the…

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Historians face wall of silence over Swiss-Apartheid links

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Changing of the Swiss guard in Kosovo

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Neutral Switzerland reveals its Cold War defences

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Swiss lay ground for UN inspectors in Iraq

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Swiss deploy first armed peacekeepers

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People’s Party takes aim at “magic formula”

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Dreifuss exits a changed stage

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Dreifuss calls it a day

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Swiss lab gears up for return of weapons inspectors

More

Middle East human rights plan is still on track

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